Animals in Translation: Imagining Criteria and Frameworks for Decoding Communication in Other Species
Communication is ubiquitous in humans and other animals. However, how we perceive other animals is often linked to what we know about the type and complexity of information contained in their communication systems. Scientists are using advanced technologies to study animal communication and behavior, and although there have been important advances in the field of animal communication research, we simply have not yet found a rigorous means or demonstration of the ability to translate their systems of communication. Using AI machine learning and other mathematical approaches, coupled with ground truthing by scientists studying specific species, we are closer than ever to demonstrating the ability to decode functional communication in other species. There may be a multitude of ways to decipher the codes of other species and to demonstrate successful translations. So what might success look like?
Interspecies Internet (IO) & The Santa Fe Institute aim to advance this challenge and guide the global community towards such a breakthrough. The focus of the Workshop is to imagine, discuss and co-create robust yet flexible criteria that would constitute evidence for the successful decoding of communication systems of another species. Towards this goal, the meeting will bring together experts from the fields of animal communication, cognition, behavior, AI, philosophy, linguistics, and mathematics, including members of the SFI community and other thinkers. Developing such criteria will inspire and encourage the pursuit of the demonstration of such translations and we hope that this achievement will create a sea change in how animals are perceived and treated.
The proceedings of the workshop and outcomes will be documented and published digitally as an unprecedented advance for the field. In addition, we invite representatives of the XPrize Biodiversity + Conservation domain to further co-develop a prize concept for animal translation based on the criteria developed. Our outcomes for this workshop will contribute to the wider field of exobiology.
Program Overview
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Arrival and Networking: Guests arrived at the SFI Tesuque campus and enjoyed food, drinks, and networking.
Welcome Remarks: Trustees, XPRIZE, and SFI representatives gave brief introductions and remarks.
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Breakfast
Event Opening: Opening remarks and insights from Interspecies Internet trustees and SFI President David Krakauer.
Presentations:
Con Slobodchikoff
Exploring Features of Communication: A Stroke of Genus
Yossi Yovel
From Cacophony to Order in Animal Communication
Jeff Reed
Cry Wolf Project at Yellowstone Park
Break
Presentations:Brenda McCowan
Humpback Whales in Translation: Toward Decoding Communication and its Complexity in Non-Humans
Julien Meyer
How traditional extreme transformations of speech may help decoding animal communications
Gasper Begus
Intelligence for Discovery: Project CETI
Lunch Break
Presentations:
George Vengrovski
Deciphering Canary Song: A Deep Dive into Self-Supervised Learning with TweetyBERT
Laurance Doyle
Animal Communication, Information Theory, and SETI
Catherine Hobaiter
Reimagining the Study of Ape Communication
Break
Collective Discussion: The first day concluded with a collective discussion and Q&A session.
Wrap Up
Group Dinner: Guests enjoyed a group dinner hosted by XPRIZE at Paloma, a 5-minute walk from Hotel Santa Fe.
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Breakfast
Welcome and Overview: A welcome session with a schedule reminder, a brief overview of the previous day, and the goals for the day.
Morning Breakout Sessions:
1st Session: The Complexity of Communication: Assumptions and Barriers to Decoding
2nd Session: The Coupling of AI, The Human Eye, and Other Tools to Decode
Lunch Break
Afternoon Breakout Sessions:
3rd Session: Criteria for Decoding
Break
Collective Discussion: All ideas generated by the three groups were projected on the screen for review and evaluated based on suggested criteria for decoding.
Closing Remarks: The event concluded with closing remarks, expressions of thanks, and departures.
Organizers
Dr. Diana Reiss
Professor at Hunter College, cognitive psychologist, marine mammal scientist and Interspecies Internet Trustee.